Trinidad and Tobago 149 for 7 (Perkins 38, Pollard 31, Edwards 3-32) beat Deccan Chargers 146 for 9 (Gilchrist 51, Bravo 3-24) by three runs.
Player of the match DJ Bravo (Trinidad and Tobago)
In a match that Deccan had to win to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, the Deccan Chargers bowlers shook off a horribly wayward start and later poor show by bat knock them out of the tournament.
Deccan were the champions – to crash out in the first round of the Champions League after losing both their Group A matches. T and T, on the other hand, were unexpected winners of the group and will carry forward two points into the second round by virtue of their win against co-qualifiers Somerset.
A gem of an over from Bravo has ensured it is T and T and Somerset who has made it through to the next round. At 125 for 5 with Styris and Rao out in the middle, Deccan was favourite to win this. But it has ended in utter disappointment for them, as they’ve lost nine out nine games in their home city. Deccan becomes the first IPL team to be knocked out of the tournament. A target of 150 was gettable on this track, but with three run-outs, the loss of Rao at the wrong time, the loss of Gilchrist when he was set and some nervous batting at the death meant they fell short by an agonizing three runs.
Two close matches and two defeats – Deccan’s failure to shut things down after getting into a position of control, has cost them a place in the next round. Against Somerset, they were on top having reduced the opposition to 99 for 7, and here with Gilchrist and Rohit, and Styris and Rao, they appeared to be on course but let it slip, and badly.
Earlier, sent in to bat, the Caribbean side kept losing wickets at regular intervals to squander a flying start. Polard uncorked some lusty shots towards the fag end to lift his side to a competitive total, hitting four sixes in his crucial 31-run cameo off just 14 balls. Perkins’ 38 came off 32 balls with the help of six hits to the fence. Fidel Edwards who was barred from bowling in the last match for firing two beamers, made amends by taking three wickets, including one that of Polard.
The Caribbean batsmen took some time to settle on the pitch which offered some resistance to paceman initially. Edwards made a good start by trapping Lendl Simmons (7) in the first ball of his second over. Next man in, left-handed Darren Bravo also struggled against a charged up Edwards for the first few balls before playing an exquisite cover drive for four.
RP Singh struggled with his run-up and bowled three consecutive no-balls, resulting in free-hits even though the batsmen could not make the most of those. Perkins welcomed Scott Styris with consecutive boundaries and the Caribbean side was off to a decent if not spectacular start.
Trinidad was 92 for 4 after 13 – the run-rate was alright but the wickets weren’t – when Dwayne Bravo cut hard but straight to Suman at point. The catch was spilled but Suman recovered quickly to run out Bravo at the bowler’s end. The dismissal brought Pollard into play and he was devastating against the spinners.
Ojha disappeared to the long-off and midwicket boundaries and Suman watched two full balls sail far and away over his head. Edwards suffered as well, Pollard pulling him for a flat six, before recovering to uproot the leg stump.
T and T’s innings then lost steam. Ramdin had fallen to a bizarre stumping off Symonds, when Gilchrist failed to collect but the ball bounced off his gloves on to the stumps. The tail-enders failed to cope against the death bowling – Dave Mohammed took an RP Singh bouncer on his neck – and they settled for 149, when at one stage 170 was on the cards.
During the match, neither team took firm control at any stage, for both outfits were haphazard in their disciplines, but T&T lifted at the right moments to prevail in a tense finish. Their batsmen entertained throughout, playing a shot a minute, but didn’t hang around long enough to cause significant damage – scoring only 149 for 7 on a terrific batting surface.
Their bowlers took crucial early wickets but began to wilt under Adam Gilchrist’s flashing bat and, when they fought back to inch closer to victory, Venugopal Rao threatened to snatch it away from them. With only eight runs to defend off the final over, Daren Ganga gave the responsibility to Dwayne Bravo and T and T’s most experienced player delivered.
Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi
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